McCain: Black's gaffe still in the news

Did McCain lose some of his enviro mojo with the offshore oil drilling announcement? He had a credible pro-environment reputation and clearly wants to keep that reputation, but the offshore oil drilling stance has caused him some problems, potentially.

The Washington Post: "In a speech in Santa Barbara, Calif., McCain (R-Ariz.) vowed to 'put the purchasing power of the United States government on the side of green technology' by buying fuel-efficient vehicles for its civilian fleet of cars and trucks and by retrofitting federal office space. The pledge comes months after Obama (D-Ill.) outlined a more detailed and ambitious proposal on the subject, virtually ensuring that the next administration will take significant steps to lower the government's output of energy and pollution."

Charlie Black's comments about terrorist attack helping McCain continue to reverberate. "Obama and his surrogates continued to criticize Charles R. Black Jr., a top adviser to Sen. John McCain, on Tuesday for saying a terrorist attack before the November election would help the presumptive Republican nominee. But behind their protests lay a question that has dogged Democrats since Sept. 11, 2001: Was Black speaking the truth?"

More: "[R]adio host Rush Limbaugh said aloud what other Republicans have been saying privately for months. Black's comments were 'obvious,' Limbaugh said yesterday on his program as he criticized McCain for distancing himself from them. Limbaugh said in no uncertain terms that Obama would be weak in the face of terrorism. 'We know damn well it's Obama who would seek to appease our enemies. We know damn well it's McCain who won't put up with another attack,' Limbaugh said."

To this day, Kerry (D-Mass.) has blamed an Osama bin Laden videotape released on Oct. 29, 2004, for his defeat in the election the following week. And McCain, while campaigning in Connecticut for Rep. Christopher Shays that week in 2004, described the bin Laden video as a boost for Bush. 'I think it's very helpful to President Bush,' McCain said at the time. 'It focuses America's attention on the war on terrorism. I'm not sure if it was intentional or not, but I think it does have an effect.'"

McCain held a tele-townhall with South Florida voters. "[T]he McCain campaign Tuesday night called 50,000 Democratic and independent voters who live in Broward and Palm Beach counties for a 'tele-townhall meeting' with the presidential candidate. About 4,500 people participated. The campaign says the voters were randomly selected and could ask the presumptive Republican nominee whatever they wanted, though the topics were screened. The event was part of a series of in-person and call-in meetings that McCain is hosting with Democrats and independent voters as he tries to distance himself from an unpopular Republican administration."

More: "The callers Tuesday night were all friendly and mostly complimentary. McCain fielded questions for about 45 minutes on taxes, public education and healthcare. In a nod to South Florida's large Jewish population, McCain vowed to enforce tough sanctions against the anti-Israel leader of Iran and to 'prevent another Holocaust.' He also repeated his call for the federal government to allow oil drilling off Florida's coast."

The Palm Beach Post added, "Sen. Joe Lieberman, an Independent from Connecticut who usually votes with the Democrats but has endorsed McCain, introduced the Republican candidate. Lieberman, the first Jewish candidate to run for vice president on a major party ticket, received strong support eight year ago among the large Jewish populations in Palm Beach and Broward counties. Speaking in a quiet, conversational tone, McCain recalled his recent trip to the Middle East with Lieberman – including a visit to Israel – and said he would do everything he could 'to prevent another Holocaust.'"

"McCain said Tuesday he wants to show his support for Colombia's anti-drug efforts and a pending free-trade agreement with the U.S. by visiting the South American ally... His staff committed one mistake in announcing the trip, though, repeatedly misspelling the country as 'Columbia.' Nonetheless, McCain cast his support for Colombia, its leaders and its people in the friendliest of terms."